1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a telescopic bicycle carrier, which can be received inside the rear bumper of a vehicle, be extracted as needed, and be expanded in a widthwise direction of the vehicle after being extracted.
2. Description of Related Art
Today's bicycles are used for transportation as well as for leisure. In the case where the bicycles are used for leisure, their users transport the bicycles close to rivers where well-arranged roads dedicated to bicycles are provided or mountains where mountain bicycle courses are provided using a vehicle, and then use their own bicycles.
There are bicycle carriers, which are developed to be able to transport bicycles using a vehicle. Among the bicycle carriers, roof fixing type bicycle carriers installed on a roof rack of the vehicle and rear fixing type bicycle carriers installed in the rear of the vehicle are generally used. The rear fixing type bicycle carriers are mainly fixed to the trunk or tail gate of the vehicle. Recently, the rear fixing type bicycle carriers have been fixed to the tow hook of the vehicle.
However, these bicycle carriers must be separately installed on the vehicle, and thus have the following problems.
In the case of the roof fixing type bicycle carriers, it is inconvenient to raise the bicycle up to the roof of the vehicle in order to load the bicycle. When the bicycle is loaded thereon, the height and center of weight of the vehicle are increased, which unfavorably impacts the safety of the vehicle as it moves.
In the case of the rear fixing type bicycle carriers, because the bicycle is loaded on the rear of the vehicle, the problem of the roof fixing type bicycle carriers does not take place. However, when driven without the bicycle being loaded thereon, the vehicle is substantially increased in length, which gives inconvenience when operating the vehicle, since the rear fixing type bicycle carrier when installed protrudes to the rear of the vehicle.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.